MINUTES OF THE TOWN DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE OF MELKSHAM TOWN COUNCIL HELD AT MELKSHAM TOWN HALL ON MONDAY 15 JUNE 2015 At 7.00PM Present: Mrs Claire Forgacs Mrs Pam Wiltshire Mr Simon Hedley Mr Richard Wiltshire Mr Andrew Hinchcliffe Mr Geoff Mitcham Miss Hayley Spencer (Chair) Also Present: Mr Bruce Sanders Officers Present: Miss Miriam Zaccarelli and Mrs Lorraine McRandle, Committee Clerk 2015 269. Apologies Apologies were received from Councillors Terri Welch and Pat Aves with Councillors Andy Hinchcliffe and Pam Wiltshire substituting respectively. 270. Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest. 271. Public Participation (1 member of public) No member of public present wished to speak to an item. (a) Matters arising Page 1 of 6 Therefore, there were no matters arising. 272. Minutes of the previous meeting The minutes of 23 February 2015 were circulated to Councillors prior to the meeting for their information. Matters Arising Matters Arising Item 112 - Website Clarification was sought on when the Community Group/Events part of the website would be available.
Page 2 of 6 The Deputy Town Clerk informed the meeting she would look into this matter and seek an update on progress. 273. Trees in Corfe Road A letter had been received from Mr Fogden, Corfe Road requesting the planting of an additional tree on land adjacent to his property to complement the existing trees in this area, which were planted several years ago by the Council. In his letter he explained he would be happy to purchase a new tree if the Town Council were happy to approve his request. The Deputy Town Clerk explained that another resident in this area had previously been considering using the strip of land concerned to provide access to the rear of his property. RESOLVED: To inform all residents in the area that a request had been received from a resident for an additional tree to be planted on a strip of grass adjacent to their properties to seek their views on this matter, prior to going ahead with any tree planting and to inform Mr Fogden what action has been taken. 274. Market Charter Commemorations Councillor Terri Welch had asked for this item to be placed on the agenda to ascertain Councillors thoughts on holding an event on 29 September 2019 to commemorate 800 years of Melksham s Market Charter. RESOLVED: To begin preliminary preparation for this event. 275. Public Transport Review Rhys Shell, Melksham Area Board had written to the Town Council regarding a Public Transport Review seeking a representative from the Town Council to attend a forthcoming workshop to discuss the review. Councillor Ben Anderson unfortunately could not attend this meeting, but asked if questions could be raised with regard to the bus service used by children in Shaw and the surrounding area to attend Corsham Secondary School. RESOLVED: Councillor Andy Hinchcliffe to represent the Town Council at the forthcoming workshop and pass on the concerns of Councillor Ben Anderson. 276. Parking Permits The Deputy Town Clerk explained Mr Richard Mortimer, Wiltshire Council was due to attend the meeting to discuss this matter, but unfortunately due to illness could not
attend. RESOLVED: To defer this matter to a future meeting. 277. Concessionary Parking The Deputy Town Clerk explained this item was on the agenda to allow Councillors to give consideration to which two free parking days they wished to nominate in Melksham for 2015/16. Following discussion it was: RESOLVED: To nominate 18 July Carnival/Party in the Park and 5 December Christmas Fayre and Lights Switch-on as free parking days and to forward these on to Wiltshire Council and to heavily promote free parking on those days nearer the time of the events. 278. Assembly Hall. a) To consider future marketing initiatives including an Open Day on 8 July The Deputy Town Clerk explained it was hoped to hold an Open Day at the Assembly Hall on 8 July, unfortunately due to the amount of work involved it was felt it would be better to postpone this event until August. The Deputy Town Clerk explained she had been approached by Life in Melksham Magazine who wished to enter into a partnership deal whereby for 90 a month they would provide an editorial piece on Town Council and Assembly Hall activities and half a page of advertising. RESOLVED: To investigate the costs involved in outsourcing the work involved in holding an Assembly Hall Open Day and to place this matter on a future agenda for discussion once costs are known. To take up the offer of a partnership arrangement with Melksham Life for a 3 month trial period for July, August and September, promoting events in the Assembly Hall as well as the opportunity to hire rooms in the Town Hall, Assembly Hall and Cricket Pavilion. b) To consider the attached request from Lisa Henderson regarding use of the Assembly Hall for a Pole-Da-Cise event in October 2015 Ms Lisa Henderson, Fitness Dance School had written to the Town Council requesting free hire of the Assembly Hall to hold a charity event in October. Page 3 of 6
The Deputy Town Clerk explained that the Finance Officer had advised that this matter should be placed on the Town Council agenda on 29 June for consideration. RESOLVED: To place this item on the Town Council agenda of 29 June for further discussion. 279. Britain in Bloom South West The Deputy Town Clerk provided Councillors with an update on progress with regard to Melksham s entry into the Britain in Bloom South West Competition. Councillor Pam Wiltshire stated that she felt that the suggestion for the war memorial to be maintained by volunteers was inappropriate and that this area should be maintained by the Town Council, given its importance to the town. Councillor Pam Wiltshire suggested that when the current contract for planting is due for renewal the Town Council should look carefully at what is required and consider more sustainable planting in areas, especially if the budget remained the same, enabling the Town Council to increase the area of the town that is covered by floral planting. RESOLVED: To place an item regarding next year s planting scheme on an agenda in the Autumn for consideration and to discuss with the nursery how to incorporate planting in the town within the current budget. To consider what type of floral planting is required when the contract is next up for renewal at the end of 2016. 280. Recycling Litter Bins Councillor Hayley Spencer had produced a Notice of Motion for the Town Council to consider replacing town litter bins with recycling bins to encourage responsible choices by individuals. Discussion ensued on whether these new bins would be emptied by Wiltshire Council, or whether there was a need for recycling bins as it was understood any rubbish collected is sorted for recycling at the local waste recycling centre. RESOLVED: To enquire with Wiltshire Council if rubbish collected from the Town Centre is recycled and if new recycling bins where to be installed whether these would be emptied by Wiltshire Council. Page 4 of 6
281. Smoke Free Zones Page 5 of 6 Councillor Hayley Spencer had produced a Notice of Motion to designate outdoor smoke free areas in Melksham, thereby encouraging healthy choices in communal areas such as parks and public quiet areas. RESOLVED: To investigate participation in the scheme and to initially seek permission from Wiltshire Council to designate the children s play park in the King George V Playing Area as a smoke free zone and to place notices in that area discouraging people from smoking. 282. Parish Emergency Assistance Scheme A letter had been received from Mr Brian Lanham, Weather and Drainage Manager, Wiltshire Council regarding the Parish Emergency Assistance Scheme (PEAS) 2015-2016, which helps parish and town councils in dealing with adverse weather conditions throughout the year by providing salt during the winter and sandbags and other equipment to assist in flooding events. It was noted that in order to participate in the scheme certain criteria have to be met, including the development of a parish weather response plan with Wiltshire Council. The Deputy Town Clerk informed the meeting that a Flood Plan for Melksham is in the initial stages of being formulated. It was unclear whether the tonne of salt to be provided was to top up existing stocks within the community or whether this was extra to what Wiltshire Council would provide around the town in the various salt bins. RESOLVED: To take part in the scheme and to continue working on the Flood Plan for Melksham. To undertake an assessment of the salt boxes around the town to ascertain their condition and whether replacements or additional boxes are required. 283. Correspondence a) Letter from Hannah Bahadoor, Senior Traffic Order Technician regarding Waiting Restrictions on Snowberry Lane A letter had been received from Hannah Bahadoor with regard to the introduction of parking restrictions on Snowberry Lane and the proposed revocation of time limited parking on parts of Bath Road to provide more parking opportunities for residential properties nearby.
RESOLVED: To note the contents of the letter but to ascertain which part of Bath Road was included within the order. b) Email from Russell Brown regarding the replacement of the bus shelter by the United Church in the Market Place Following an enquiry with regard to publicizing the Town Council s intention to replace the bus shelter outside the United Reformed Church, Russell Brown, Conservation Officer had written offering his advice with regard to how the Town Council could do this. RESOLVED: To place notices on the bus shelter informing members of the public of the Town Council s intentions with regard to the bus shelter. 284. Payments for Approval A List of Payments was circulated at the meeting. RESOLVED: To approve the List of Payments. Page 6 of 6